


El Dorado

by JuriSalora



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: (really just mentioned so nothing graphic), Alternate Universe, Desert Setting, M/M, Minor Character Death, OT12 - Freeform, Rebels, golden city El Dorado, onesided TaoRis, please bear with the ton of povs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:21:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21808120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuriSalora/pseuds/JuriSalora
Summary: El Dorado,The golden city,A city full of corruption and intrigues,Ruled by the golden king,A city, where you can buy the stars but can lose everything.The rebels,Once true to the land,Now a crooked image of themselves,fighting for power.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Huang Zi Tao | Z.Tao/Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Junmyeon | Suho, Lu Han & Oh Sehun
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I changed the ages a little so that it makes more sense with the story:
> 
> Sehun - 16  
> Kyungsoo - 17  
> Zitao - 18  
> Jongin, Chanyeol - 19  
> Junmyeon, Baekhyun, Yixing – 20  
> Jongdae – 21  
> Yifan, Luhan, Minseok – 23

"You said you took a captive?"

This was the first thing Kyungsoo heard after he had been left alone for hours – well, he probably hadn't been alone, they would have let somebody have an eye on him. Even though he really wasn't in the condition to try anything. After all, he was blindfolded, his hands hurt from being tied behind his back, his mouth and throat were dry from the heat and he was sure that he would faint from the blood loss of several severe wounds pretty soon.

"So this is him?"

Kyungsoo blinked when the blindfold was taken from his eyes and it was suddenly too bright, even though they were in a tent and surely it was much brighter outside. He was met with dark brown eyes that stared at him. Unforgiving brown eyes, whose coldness made him shiver.

"He doesn't look special in any way. Why did you take him with you?"

"His clothing was too expensive for a mere merchant – and he seemed to have a bodyguard."

A grin tugged at the man's lips. It made him look absolutely stunning, and Kyungsoo's pulse sped up. If from fear or admiration he didn't know. Probably it was both.

Everything about the man was beautiful. From his eyes to his chocolate skin, the soft, brown hair or the plump lips, that Kyungsoo couldn't stop staring at.

"So then, who are you?"

It took a while to realize that the question was meant for him and even more time to answer it.

"Kyungsoo..." he managed to say.

His throat hurt from being so dry. The man's grin got wider.

"Kyungsoo..." he repeated, the name rolling from his tongue as if he had never said anything else. "Well then, _Kyungsoo_ , won't you tell us why you were with the merchant and who you really are?"

Kyungsoo couldn't. He didn't know who these people were and it definitely wasn't the best idea to tell them he was the second prince, anyways. Not with the rebellion getting more and more support. So he just stared at the other with fearful eyes.

* * *

Jongin hadn't expected the boy to answer him right away, but still he was a little disappointed. He could see the fear in Kyungsoo's eyes and usually fear made it easier to get what he wanted. Not this time though. Well, he had enough time to get the information out of him.

"Do something about his injuries, I don't want him to die when we haven't gotten any information from him yet."

"Please..." the boy's soft voice was heard, "...could I get some water please...?"

The request was silent and when Jongin looked at the captive again Kyungsoo's big eyes were pleading.

"Give him some water and treat his injuries. And bring him to my tent when you're done."

Then Jongin left the tent with long strides. He visited the horses and made his usual round to see if everything was going fine. Still he couldn't take his thoughts of the mysterious boy. He could have sworn he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where. He only knew that this boy fascinated him somehow. Kyungsoo was definitely way too pretty for his own good and he should be grateful that Jongin's men were the ones to find him. After all they had at least a little manner and in any other camp the boy would have probably been raped by now.

It was kind of frustrating for him that most of the rebels were exactly the same kind of humans they fought against. And even if the king had way more power to be an asshole it didn't mean that the people had the right to be like that as well. The rebels were just like any other movement: they had started with pure intentions and the more people joined the more corrupt and crooked it became. Jongin's camp was the last one where the true intention was still left – or at least he hoped it was. They weren't many people, but they were loyal to the land and Jongin was proud to be one of them – and even more to be their leader.

He had just returned to his tent when Chanyeol brought Kyungsoo. The boy was a lot shorter than he had thought and next to Chanyeol, who was a goddamn giant, he looked extremely fragile. His wounds had been treated and he was bound and blindfolded again. The two stopped in the middle of the tent. Jongin smiled at Chanyeol.

"Thank you", he said. "Now please leave us alone."

The rebel bowed his head and silently left.

Jongin could practically smell Kyungsoo's fear. The boy just stood there without any orientation or knowledge of what would happen to him now. When the dark skinned male stood up and made his way to him, the shorter started to shiver and, if possible, his skin became even paler. Jongin let his hand slide in the soft, dark hair and made Kyungsoo wince. He smiled wolfishly as he whispered into the shorter's ear.

"Won't you answer my question from before?"

"Wh-which question...?"

It was fascinating how the boy's voice was at least an octave higher than before. Jongin enjoyed his fear for a moment longer before he answered.

"I just wanted to know who you really are. You're not a merchant, _Kyungsoo_!"

"I..."

The boy didn't say anything else and just bit on his lower lip. Jongin sighed. He let his other hand lightly wander down Kyungsoo's neck. The other froze.

"Do I have to make you speak...?" Jongin asked with a dangerously low voice and Kyungsoo began frantically shaking his head.

"I-I can't tell you...!" he stuttered. "I p-promised not to tell anyone...! Please don't hurt me!"

Jongin hadn't expected the boy to be frightened enough to start crying, but the tears made him soft. It was hard to always be that unforgiving leader that the rebellion needed. Especially if you had a very caring side. He carefully took the blindfold from the boy's eyes and dragged him to his bed, where he sat him down.

"How old are you, boy?" he asked staring down at the other.

"Seventeen."

It was an answer Jongin hadn't expected. Kyungsoo looked fragile enough to be a fourteen-year-old and especially those large eyes made him appear that much younger than he was.

"So you're almost an adult?"

Kyungsoo's eyes widened in shock as Jongin pushed him down on the mattress, towering over him.

"Wh-what are you...? Please don't...!"

The taller grinned.

"Don't worry, boy, I might have grown up in the slums and I might be a rebel, but I'm not gonna do that to you. Not unless you want it...?"

Jongin hadn't expected the other to say yes to his slight question; still, seeing him hectically shake his head was amusing.

The question where he had seen the boy before still was in the back of his mind, but he decided he had time to find out. It wouldn't be of that much importance anyways. And if he didn't hurry with that task, he would have more time to play with him.


	2. Chapter 2

When the door opened, Junmyeon put the book down.

"Your food, mylord."

He smiled gently.

"Thank you."

The maid just bowed slightly, put the tray down on the table and disappeared again. Junmyeon could see the guard in front of the door take a look into the room. His gaze was harsh and kind of disapproving and lingered on the young man for a few seconds before he closed the door again.

It had been hard getting used to being a prisoner. Usually Junmyeon liked going outside, walking through the gardens, sitting on his balcony with a book, the possibilities were endless. Or at least they had been. Because now he didn't get to see anything else than the cold stonewalls of the room he couldn't leave. He was glad that they had given him a room instead of a cell in the dungeon under the palace, but at the same time he knew the reason for the special treatment: it was way harder to escape from somewhere so high up than from underground. It didn't have anything to do with him being the crown prince.

The young man sighed and pushed a few strands of dark brown hair out of his eyes. He was thankful that at least he got food and water in a sufficient amount. Otherwise he would probably be in much worse condition by now. After all it had been some weeks.

It had been a calm evening, Junmyeon and Jongdae had sat on the bench on Junmyeon's balcony, the first reading a book and being watched by the latter. It had already been the time where it was getting really cold at night, so the prince had asked Jongdae to wait for him while he was getting a blanket from his room. That was the only reason why the younger of them hadn't fallen into the trap.

The moment Junmyeon stepped through the doors of his balcony and turned towards his bed, two henchmen stormed into the room and stepped up to him. Jongdae just heard a scream from his prince and as he made his way to the doors he saw the older fighting with two men.

When their eyes met, Junmyeon froze.

"Run, Jongdae!" was the last thing he could shout before one of the men kicked him in the stomach, making it hard to breathe and his vision becoming blurry.

The young man was glad Jongdae had seemingly followed the order. At least he hadn't been anywhere to see when he came back to his senses and one of the two men had been shouting something about the balcony. It had been the last time Junmyeon had seen Jongdae and even though he missed his bodyguard and best friend a lot at least the other was still alive. Or at least Junmyeon hoped he was, because he wouldn't be able to deal with having lost two people so extremely close to him in one night. It had destroyed him enough when he had managed to get rid of the henchmen for a while just to stumble over the corpse of his father when he set foot into the great hall. Junmyeon had collapsed sobbing next to the dead body and that was where the two men had found him again. He hadn't tried to fight back anymore when they pushed him through the halls and finally locked him in this very room he was still in.

A quiet sob escaped his throat and he slid to the ground, hugging himself and burying his head in his knees. He wasn't dumb; he exactly knew who had initiated the attacks and he also knew the goal of them. It wasn't easy watching intrigues unfold while you could do nothing to stop them and it was even harder to just wait for your death every single day. He didn't know why they kept him prisoner, though. He didn't have any value to them other then making him a sacrifice for their greed for power. It wasn't sufficient to just kill the king; if even one of the princes survived, it would be hard to create a new order.

Junmyeon had overheard the guards talking about how neither Jongdae nor second prince Kyungsoo and his bodyguard had been found and he just hoped that they wouldn't find them. The only people that still were close to his heart were those three. He couldn't stop worrying about his little brother. Sure, he had a bodyguard and even though Sehun wasn't exactly the most intelligent person, Junmyeon would always entrust him with the life of his brother. He knew that everything Sehun was lacking in intelligence he made up for with how utterly devoted he was to his duty. And Jongdae...well, Jongdae was an entirely different book. It had been hard to hide the tenderly blooming feelings he had for the other, but that didn't matter anymore. He probably wouldn't see the younger ever again and as long as he was safe Junmyeon didn't mind much what was going to happen with him. He just needed to _know_ that the others were safe.

But the weeks had gone by without anything happening. He had already read the books in his room at least ten times each and there still wasn't anything new.

They would tell him when his end was drawing closer, right?

They would tell him when they had found his brother, right?

He had the feeling the traitor was going to make him watch the death of those closest to him when he got the chance and the young man wasn't looking forward to it. The anxiety almost killed him, but he told himself that he needed to hold on, to keep fighting – just in case someone needed his help. It was hard, but he could make it. Somehow.


	3. Chapter 3

"Zitao?"

"Yes, my emperor?"

Yifan sighed and sent the younger a disapproving look.

"I told you not to call me that. I do not see any reason for formalities between us. We grew up together and you are my beloved brother!"

Zitao tried not to wince. He knew that Yifan didn't return his romantic feelings, but it still hurt being reminded of it.

"I have a mission to send you on."

That was one thing Zitao really didn't like about Yifan: the missions he gave him were absolutely horrible. Always. At least when you were that fool who had fallen hard for the emperor, who didn't return your feelings in the slightest and didn't even seem to know about them. Yifan wasn't the most intelligent when it came to social interaction and whatever Zitao had done to give him hints about his feelings and desires, the older had just thought of it as acts of close friendship. And the moment he had finally collected enough courage to just tell Yifan, the other sent him on a mission to travel to the neighboring kingdom of Shangri-La and send a proposal to their princess. Having grown up with his emperor ever since he was about two years old he did know that the other didn't care if his partners were male or female, and that was what had made him have slight hope. But a marriage was a completely different thing. If Yifan was married there was no possibility for Zitao to be his partner instead.

That was the moment Zitao had decided that he hated it when Yifan sent him on missions and he had a feeling that this new one was no exception.

"I need you to travel to El Dorado. You know they are an important trade partner of ours, but for some reason I have not heard anything from the royal family in months – not even an answer to the trade I suggested. Something is not right and you are the only one I can entrust this mission to."

Zitao sighed and nodded.

"Of course...my emperor. I shall leave now. The earlier I arrive in El Dorado the earlier I can come back."

When he turned around to leave the room and pack up his things, he got pulled back into an embrace.

"Do not be so cold to me, Taozi. I do not want to send you away from me, but I do not have another choice."

The younger froze when Yifan used his nickname. _Taozi._ It had been quite some time since he had heard that name the last time. They had grown apart a little ever since Yifan's proposal, because it hurt to be in the same room as the person you loved when you knew he was to marry someone else.

"I'm not being cold towards you..."

"You are. I do not know why but you have lost your smile when you are with me and that makes me sad. You have a beautiful smile and I miss seeing it."

Zitao had always been someone to easily cry and this moment was too much for him. On the one hand it was beautiful hearing Yifan compliment him and it made him incredibly happy that the older seemed to care about him – on the other hand it hurt like hell. His heart was a mess of butterflies and stabbing wounds and Yifan didn't even know what he did to the younger.

"Yifan...I..."

"Taozi, are you crying?"

It was kind of funny how Yifan, this tall, beautiful, powerful, strong man didn't know how to deal with Tao crying. He had never known and it was amusing how he started to panic every time this happened.

"Please...please don't tell me I'm beautiful, Yifan..."

"But you are! You are beautiful and strong and lovable! Whoever will get to be with you will be the luckiest person on earth!"

There was not much that had hurt more than this in Zitao's entire life, and having grown up in a strict family and having been forced to learn to fight very early he had known a lot of pain. Still he decided to force a smile on his face.

"I...hope they will... I really should go, Yifan...I will come to say goodbye when I have my equipment packed."

With that Zitao escaped the other's arms and fled to his room. He couldn't do anything against the silent tears that streamed down his face and he just wanted to throw himself onto his bed and cry and never get up and see Yifan again. He knew that this wasn't possible. He knew that he had tasks to do and that he couldn't live without seeing Yifan again, but it just hurt so much...

* * *

"I will take my leave, Yifan... I hope I can fulfill your request."

Zitao shyly stepped into the room. His eyes were still red and puffy from crying and he actually didn't want Yifan to see him like this, but it was something that he couldn't avert. He had promised to say goodbye and even if he hadn't, he wouldn't have been able to ignore his own desire to see the other a last time before he began his journey.

"Taozi!"

The taller jumped from his throne and came towards him in long strides, before he embraced him once again.

"I will miss you. Please be safe and promise me you will come back as soon as possible."

Zitao could only nod. At the moment he didn't trust his voice enough to not crack.

He would hurry to come back as soon as he had found out what was wrong.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, this guy...who do you think he is, Minseok?"

"Judging from his clothes I would say he's a merchant. But these days you can't be quite sure. Remember what the old woman said: there is a rebellion going on here. Can you do something against his injuries?"

The blond boy's eyes fluttered open and Minseok flashed a smile at him. It wasn't usual to find an injured person in the middle of the desert and the boy had had quite a lot of luck that the adventurers had found him. The chances to survive fainting in a desert weren't very high.

"What...happened...?"

The boy's voice sounded rather rough as if it had been quite some time since he had last seen water – well, maybe that actually was the case. Yixing smiled and crouched down to have a better look at the injuries.

"We do not know what happened to you. We just found you lying here in the desert. You are lucky that you survived this long."

Minseok held a flask to the boy's lips.

"Drink something. What's your name?"

Carefully he gulped down a little water. One could see how much energy it coast him and Yixing silently asked himself how long he had been passed out here already. He must have had quite a bit of determination not to die here.

"I'm Sehun, who are you?" he finally managed to get out, followed by rough coughing caused by his still dried out throat.

"I'm Minseok and this is Yixing. We're adventurers."

Yixing pushed his blond hair back and smiled at the younger reassuringly. At least he thought that the other was younger. He did still look like a kid, but you could never say for sure. After all Minseok also still looked like a kid at the age of twenty-one.

"I can help your healing a little, but for better treatment we will have to take you with us and find a safer place," Yixing explained while sending a little of his healing energy into the boy's body. "Are you fine with that?"

It would be impossible to heal the wounds adequately if not with stable surroundings. Which the middle of a desert didn't really qualify as. Sehun nodded. Yixing could see his discomfort whenever his slightly glowing hands touched the other's skin, but that was the side effect of healing. It was always uncomfortable. The healer took his time to make sure that the boy wasn't in danger anymore. They would have to walk quite a bit and it would be terrible if the injuries opened up again.

"You said you are adventurers. Where are you from?" Sehun asked nonchalantly after he had stood up, but Minseok could see the anxious glint in his eyes as well as the reach for something in his back, probably a weapon.

There had to be some reason he wasn't sure if he could speak freely, the older guessed. He decided to tell a little more than asked. The boy should feel safe. With the two adventurers there was nothing to really be afraid of.

"We're from Shangri-La. We usually take random jobs in cities we pass, but right now we're actually searching for the golden city of El Dorado! There's this rather interesting myth in our home country of a city in the desert that is completely made out of gold! It sounds too amazing to be true, but Yixing's always had a thing for things that sounded impossible so we're searching for it."

There was an amused grin on Sehun's face but obviously he decided not to say anything and Minseok didn't want to ask right now.

"So...what were you doing in the desert on your own with injuries such as those?"

Sehun's grin faded a little and he suddenly looked as if he had done something very wrong.

"I...I'm actually a merchant..."

He took a deep breath. Minseok couldn't pinpoint if it was from exhaustion, from sadness or just to collect his thoughts.

"I was part of a convoy, but we got attacked by rebels. They stole our cargo and killed most of the people. I don't know how many of the others have survived... I...I have to search for my younger brother...Kyungsoo... He was with me but we got separated and I'm afraid something could have happened to him. Have you...have you maybe seen him? He's about a head smaller than me, brown hair, large eyes..."

Yixing shook his head.

"We did not meet a single soul in the last few days. But is the rebellion really that bad? I didn't realize it would make even mere merchants walk around armed."

Minseok and Yixing exchanged a quick glance when Sehun's hand cautiously wandered right above the waistband of his loose pants.

"I just wanted to protect my brother, you have to believe me. I would have never forgiven myself if I had just watched him getting killed."

Minseok smiled.

"It's fine. We just wondered. It isn't usual – or at least it shouldn't be. Merchants should be protected not attacked. Actually..."

His smile got a little mischievous.

"If you want we could help you find your brother. And to pay for our services you could help us find the golden city. Deal?"

Sehun looked a little surprised, but then a grin formed on his lips.

"Deal."

"Wonderful, and now let us get you somewhere safe."


	5. Chapter 5

"Yeol? What is happening?"

Chanyeol looked back at his lover, admiring the body that laid spread out on the cushions and blankets that were their bed. The light, that still made its way through the roof of the tent, shone on Baekhyun's hair and made it appear as if it was made from white gold. The gold bracelets he wore, as well as his simple white tunic made him look absolutely ethereal, and not even that he had just woken up could ruin this picture – if anything it made the boy look even more stunning. Chanyeol's lover was the epitome of a god and the tall rebel still couldn't believe that this was _his_ god.

"I'm sorry...what did you say?"

Baekhyun chuckled lightly and a sleepy but loving smile graced his lips as he sat up and looked at the other with puppy eyes.

"I was wondering what all that commotion was about. It is very noisy."

Chanyeol sighed and slumped onto the cushion next to the other, placing a soft kiss on Baekhyun's lips. Damn, one could get addicted to kissing this magnificent being!

"You remember that we had trouble with our food supplies in the last weeks?"

The shorter nodded. He remembered very well. Chanyeol had told him that their supplies were about to be used up and that it was very unfortunate, but they really had to eat and so they probably wouldn't have any other options than to use force and steal something.

"So you were lucky?"

A wide grin spread on the younger one's face, and he kissed his lover again.

"We had the best luck! We found a convoy of some rich ass merchants! We got food for weeks and they even had some weapons and ammunition! - Ah, and we took someone from the convoy, he didn't seem to fit there. We still don't know who he is though."

A captive? Someone that didn't fit? That sounded interesting. Baekhyun's eyes began to sparkle with curiosity. He was kind of nosy sometimes, and this was a situation that was very unusual.

"What was off about him?"

Baekhyun knew a lot of people. From merchants to nobles to even the royal family, due to his family he had gotten to know most of the people that had any even slightly important role in the kingdom. Maybe he could find out who this captive was.

"I can't really pinpoint it..."

Chanyeol let himself fall back into the cushions and stared to the roof of the tent thoughtfully.

"It's just...he looked too...rich, too well-off you know? It's like he wasn't a merchant but just...dressed as one. That other boy put up quite a fight for him."

Probably a noble that had tried to flee from the revolution in disguise but hadn't been very lucky, Baekhyun decided. It was just getting more and more interesting.

"Tell me more about him," he asked, turning to the side to roll over Chanyeol. "What does he look like?"

The taller thoughtfully scrunched his nose. It was kind of hard to remember unimportant stuff when you had an ethereal being next to you.

"He was short. Really short. Brown hair I think? And he had these large eyes. Like, really large. Looked like a child to me. Maybe fourteen or fifteen."

Baekhyun tilted his head, trying to think about anyone who fit this description, but no one really came to mind. Well, he had been away from his family for quite some time now; it had been the condition for being with Chanyeol and if he had to choose between his nobility and his true love, then that was an easy choice for him.

"Do you think I could meet him?"

It was a question just out of curiosity, but he knew that Chanyeol would always take his requests seriously and that was one thing he loved about the taller – well besides his tall, muscular figure and good...equipment of course.

"I'll have to ask Jongin..." the younger replied before a slightly dumb but happy and loving smile spread on his lips. "...but before I do that I have more important stuff to do."

"More important...?"

Baekhyun pouted. What could be more important for his lover than to fulfill his wishes? Chanyeol's grin grew bigger and he kissed the pout from the shorter's lips. One of his hands found the way into his god's golden strands, the other locked around Baekhyun's slim waist, pulling the bodies closer together. Chanyeol then started to pepper his lover's skin with soft kisses that made the older giggle and contently close his eyes.

"You're far more important than some random captive!"

And how would he be able to resist this beautiful, wonderful being that was now his sun?


	6. Chapter 6

Jongdae bowed his head when the guards walked past him. 'I am just a mere priest,' he mumbled in his head, 'don't pay any attention to me, there is no need to.'

Only when they had passed him, did he dare to breathe again and careful not to attract any attention he hurried into the temple.

It was stressful to hide in plain sight. Any time someone could come up to him and recognize him, could drag him out to the guards, could destroy all the work of the last weeks. He had worked so hard to learn all the customs of the priests and apprentices in that short amount of time, had even cut his hair so that he would be safe, that he could blend in.

He was incredibly thankful for Luhan's help in that matter. The priest had done a lot for him ever since Jongdae had stood before him, telling him that he had to hide somehow or else he would be killed. Luhan had been the one suggesting that Jongdae make himself appear as a priest to stay out of view.

When he finally was back inside the temple, he couldn't hold in the relieved sigh. Some heads turned towards him, but when they just saw an apprentice, they didn't spare him another glance.

"You are back."

Jongdae looked up when he heard the soft voice.

"Luhan. Yes, I'm back."

In front of him stood a beautiful man, quite feminine, dressed in the simple white and blue robes of the priests, a part of his long, black hair neatly styled in a bun – a sign of how long he already served as a priest. It was a tradition that you shaved your head when you became an apprentice and then let it grow out when you became a priest. Luhan had served the gods ever since his thirteenth day of birth and now, ten years later, he had just become the head priest and Jongdae couldn't imagine him doing anything else.

"I'm glad you are safe. You should come back to the quarters with me. I shall have another look at your injury."

Jongdae followed the older one. El Dorado's temple was actually a complex of buildings, hallways and gardens, even bigger than the palace. One who wasn't used to the ways could easily get lost in here. Jongdae had struggled with learning it the past two weeks as well, but he had had Luhan by his side most of the time. The older had taken his time to teach him everything so that he didn't have to interact with the other priests. Yes, they were priests and they should only serve the gods, but you could never be too careful and Luhan knew better than to put his friend in unnecessary danger.

He was already endangered by the fact that he was sought after with the purpose to kill him, and the priest also didn't take it lightly that Jongdae was still bound by his duty. He _was_ the crown prince's bodyguard and as such he had to free him, even if his own life was the price for that.

"I really wish you would not seek to free him..."

Luhan's voice was quiet, but it was also silent in his rooms so Jongdae could hear him clearly. He sighed. He knew where this came from. While he and the priest had been close from a rather young age. They had met due to the royal guards being trained in a part of the temples and Jongdae, who had always been rather curious wandering off from training. The younger one's family had always been rather proud of their traditions as nobles and as such, their son had been destined to become a guard one day – something he didn't mind, but he wasn't exactly glad about the lack of freedom.

The crown prince and Luhan, however, had never even met. For the head priest, Junmyeon was just a prince, an instrument for the country to function properly rather than a person. So it was to be expected that he valued the life of his friend over that of a stranger. After all he was still human.

"You know I have to. It's my duty. I promise you I'll be safe."

He smiled at the older, who didn't respond, but instead signaled him to open his robes so that he could have a look at the wound Jongdae had gotten when he had fled from the palace. It had healed mostly in the past two weeks, but it still hurt a little sometimes and Luhan took his job as a healer very seriously.

"I should probably try to accept your prince regarding how you feel about him." Luhan sighed. "It is merely hard to accept that you would fall for someone I have never met so I can not see where this came from. I do not know if he is a good person or not."

"You're misunderstanding something. We could be considered friends and it is my duty to protect him, but that doesn't mean I love him."

There was a small smile on Luhan's lips that told him he didn't believe Jongdae's words, but found them rather amusing instead.

"However, I'm still surprised that you turned down Sehun."

Sehun and Luhan had also known each other for quite some time now. Sehun had started his training a year after Jongdae and when they had become friends, the younger had also gotten to know Jongdae's friend. Some time along the years the teen had started heavily crushing on Luhan.

The priest just smiled.

"My body has no sexual desire, but I could see it burning in him, so I thought it would be wiser to say no to him. He would not be happy in a relationship with me."

Jongdae snorted. This sounded way too much like a cheap excuse. He knew the older had a lot of responsibilities, but abandoning something precious like love for that?

"You sure it's not just this 'I'm a priest and I'm above human desires so I can't have sex'-stuff?"

He raised his hands when Luhan gave him an odd look, but he knew that the priest wasn't mad.

"No, I am serious. Asexuality does exist, you know? I like Sehun romantically, but I do not yearn for his body."

The younger shrugged. He didn't really care that much anyways. It was Sehun's problem, but the younger guard had complained to him all the time that he had been rejected.

It was annoying because Jongdae knew they liked each other and he still couldn't really understand why they couldn't just get together, but it wasn't exactly choice to make and it wouldn't matter anyways if Sehun didn't get back to the city.


	7. Chapter 7

It was probably afternoon right now, but Kyungsoo couldn't be too sure. You sure lost your sense of time when you spent your days in the same tent all the time without seeing the sun. The dim light that went through the tent walls and his blindfold wasn't exactly the best indicator of what time it was.

He only knew that Jongin had made his visits in the late afternoon usually, but what value did that information have after only two days? He couldn't really be sure that the other would always act after that plan. In general he couldn't trust anything that was happening while he was here. Not when he knew that he had really been captured by rebels.

Kyungsoo didn't have much access to information, but he had overheard some of the conversations outside his tent. Maybe they hadn't thought about the consequences, maybe they had thought that it was enough to leave him in an own tent where he wouldn't have any contact with people other than Chanyeol and Jongin. Whatever it was, he was glad they hadn't payed attention to it, so he had been able to find out some things about his situation.

He knew that he was in one of the smaller rebel camps, and that the beautiful, dangerous man named Jongin was the leader. It fit him. The tall rebel who had captured Kyungsoo two days ago and had been his guard since then was Chanyeol. He seemed to be pretty friendly and goofy, but the prince could tell that he was not too fond of his job as a guard. He seemed to be the second in command judging by the way that other rebels talked to him. Other than those two Kyungsoo had only seen two other people in these two days. One was the guy that had treated his wounds, the other had brought him food and water twice.

Treating his wounds only had meant putting bandages over them and one of his deeper wounds had needed to be sown. It had been a torture without any medication, but Kyungsoo hadn't complained. He knew that he should actually be grateful for the treatment, no matter how harsh it was. He was a prisoner and they weren't obliged to do anything for him. Simply the fact that they had spent their own resources on him, actually meant a lot. Especially in a country that was mostly desert, giving a prisoner water regularly was a great act of mercy.

He sat up when he heard someone talk to Chanyeol in front of the tent. It was Jongin's voice. Of course. Who else would visit him.

Being blindfolded wasn't exactly comfortable, but it had worked wonders and Kyungsoo was actually able to hear better – or at least concentrate on what was happening around him. The tarpaulin in the entrance was moved and steps came closer to where he was sitting. Judging from their lightness and how straightforward they were it was Jongin. Chanyeol's steps were rather uncoordinated.

He blinked when the blindfold was removed and suddenly there was light. Jongin looked at him for a few seconds before he reached for Kyungsoo's hands and untied them. Then he sat down in front of the smaller.

"I brought food and water."

"Thank you."

Kyungsoo's voice was quiet and he didn't look the other in the eye. There was no need for more words and he knew anyways what Jongin wanted from him. He knew very well, that he could not give the taller what he wanted. If he was found out, he would probably be killed and he couldn't risk that. Not before he didn't know that the people he cared for were safe.

So whenever Jongin had set foot in his tent and had tried to find out more, Kyungsoo's answers had always been rather short and simple. He was polite, but didn't let anything slide.

The rebel watched him eat in silence.

"You know it's actually kinda frustrating that I can't even be mad at you. You're just so fucking nice all the time!"

A small smile graced Kyungsoo's lips. He knew he was irritating. Being polite and nice and not complaining was not something most captives did.

"Should I apologize?"

Jongin shook his head. He was smiling as well and the smaller hurried to look away when his heart jumped at the sight. Why did the other have to be so damn attractive?! He really hoped it wasn't obvious how much he already crushed on Jongin. The implied offer from the first day came to his mind and he could feel his face heating up. Wrong thought for this moment! Definitely wrong thought!

"Your smile is really pretty."

"Wh-what?"

Startled, Kyungsoo looked up again. Was the other making fun of him or did he actually really flirt? He didn't look as if he was joking though. Was he changing his strategy to get information?

"I'm not trying to seduce you – well, maybe I am, but it's not for information. You are really handsome you know? My offer from two days ago wasn't just a joke."

Kyungsoo made a strangled noise. Did Jongin just read his thoughts? Could he maybe not do that?

He was saved from answering.

"Jongin?"

The entrance opened again and Chanyeol stepped in.

"I wanted to talk to you."

Jongin sighed and turned around.

"Does it have to be now?"

He sighed again when he saw Chanyeol's puppy eyes.

"It's about Baekhyun, right? I'm coming, wait outside..."

Kyungsoo's eyes were wide open as he was taking in everything that happened in front of him. Baekhyun. That was a new name. Someone he didn't know yet. Maybe he would finally get some useful information Maybe it was just another person. Anyways, it was important to collect every little bit of data he could get.

"I'm sorry, I'll have to tie you up again. I wish I could have given you more time to relax your wrists, but I can't risk having you make a move."

The prince nodded and closed his eyes. Of course he knew. They couldn't risk him doing anything as long as they didn't know which side he was on. Without protesting he put his wrists behind his back and let Jongin tie them together again.

"I'll come back later."

Kyungsoo could feel the rough fabric over his eyes when the other blindfolded him again and then heard his steps leave the tent.

A few seconds later he heard his voice from outside.

"Okay, so what did you want to talk with me about?"

"Well...Jongin...uhm...Baekhyun asked me if he would be allowed to...uhm...to speak to this guy... He was really interested when I told him we had captured someone and..."

This Baekhyun guy seemed to be someone pretty important to Chanyeol when he was making requests like this. Kyungsoo knew that Jongin wasn't allowing any of the other people to see him, because he couldn't be sure they wouldn't be influenced. Also...why didn't Baekhyun ask himself?

He could hear the displeasure in Jongin's voice.

"You know that I don't particularly _trust_ Baekhyun. He should be thankful I allow him to stay here, because if he wasn't your lover and I did trust _you,_ I wouldn't! No matter how much you trust him, I can't, because he's still a goddamn _noble_! No matter how much he swears that he has left his family and status behind!"

Kyungsoo's thoughts were racing. Baekhyun was a noble? A noble that had left his family to follow a rebel? Could it be? If this was true then he knew which Baekhyun they were talking about. And it meant incredibly bad news.

If they met, he would be recognized immediately.

If they met, it was over for him.


End file.
